SSAC Educational Services

Creating An Opinion Essay: A Tutorial For Beginners

An argumentative or opinion essay refers to a genre of writing which requires people to investigate a topic. It entails collecting, generating and evaluating a topic. Opinionated essays are usually more than fun. Depending on your objective (s), your composition should be of any length. It could be from a relatively short letter to an editor to a medium size speech. Your composition could also be as long as a research paper.

Regardless of the nature of your composition, it is important to note that every piece ought to have some basic elements and steps. Use the following rules or guidelines to create your opinion essay:

- Conduct an extensive research to support your opinion

You should always make sure that all your supporting statements perfectly match with your composition. For instance, your evidence ought to vary from observations to trustworthy statistics. This is especially true if the composition you are handling revolves around a research paper.

- Be extremely opinionated

This is the only time in writing you are allowed to be a hothead. You should avoid at all cost of being mild-mannered, diplomatic, or tactful. Additionally, avoid offering both sides of a story. Always remember that an argument is usually much better compared to a discussion whenever you write an essay.

- Purpose to convey a strong link to the subject

Because you are most likely an expert on a particular topic, it is okay to emphasize your authority using a first-person voice. This is especially true if the piece you are handling resonates well in a universal way. The only condition is to ensure you do have the authority. Save for the fact that you have fought in Iraq war or you have lost someone close, chances are very high that your piece will captivate or sell.

- Add unknown facts

Anytime you are crafting an opinion piece, you should always ask yourself what is timely, unusual, fresh, or new. Include obscure or specific facts, direct quotes, and updated statistics. All these go miles in supporting your piece.

- Never share the obvious slant

Even though you pen a very smart argument regarding a topical subject, the truth is that nobody needs or wants to know something that everyone else already knows. Play the devil’s advocate - rage. Put your focus on arguing the rarer point. Elucidate only uniquely as you possibly can.